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I'm sure this question has come up in the forum more than once, but I am asking here as a new thread so that I can get the most up to date feedback. My wife and I are relocating to NC this July from San Jose CA, and we are trying to figure out where to live. At least one of us will be working in Elon, so Greensboro is on our radar as a possible place to live and commute from (other considerations are Burlington, Graham, Mebane, Hillsborough, W. Durham, Carrboro - I posted a similar request in the forum for those areas as a comparison). I am originally from the south, so I already generally know about the climate and the culture.
My question for you all here is: what areas/neighborhoods of Greensboro should we consider or avoid?
A little info about us to help:
no kids
mid-40s
moderately liberal and easy to get along with and low key; open to diverse ideas/lifestyles
have one cattle dog, will be getting more
I do a lot of woodworking in the garage (so I make a little noise out in the shop)
I like to be a reasonable distance to lumber stores, hardware stores, etc.
we'd really like to avoid HOAs
while sometimes more costly/challenging, we prefer older houses with a little character (that's vague...a rough age range is 1920s to early 1970s depending on the specific place/style)
would like to avoid living in a flood plain
we will likely be restoring an old camper trailer in the driveway
we like gardening, and I don't want restrictions on what we do with our yard
we like to hike and camp, long walks with the dogs
we like to frequent restaurants, pubs, cafes, music venues, etc.
we like organic/small chain grocery stores when possible
I appreciate your feedback and thoughts....all input is helpful.
The problem I'm having in making a recommendation is that there is an inherent dichotomy in what you're looking for, imo. On the one hand, your criteria suggests a rural or semi-rural location (large yard for dogs, workshop space, RV in driveway, garden, etc.) but your other criteria (close to restaurants, pubs, music venues, organic stores, etc.) can't be found in an exurban area.
So, on the one hand I'd say look at the rural area between G'boro and Elon in places like Gibsonville, McLeansville and the aforementioned Whitsett. You might also want to look at some older, in town neighborhoods in G'boro like Lindley Park, Sunset Hills and Green Valley.
I'm having a hard time thinking of a location that fits both of those together.
So true...that's the conflicting nature of what we like and is somewhat hard to resolve. So, we realize that we'll likely have to give up some things to gain others, but I wanted to provide a fuller profile of what's important to us, or what our 'wish list' might look like if all things were possible. Your suggestions are helpful...thank you!
[*]we like to frequent restaurants, pubs, cafes, music venues, etc.[*]we like organic/small chain grocery stores when possible
One tiny town that you would love is Saxapahaw. It is about a 30 minute commute from Elon. It has music events and a small local-food grocery, a pub, and some old historic buildings. See this on the music events:
OP may well love Saxapahaw, but he should be aware that it is indeed tiny. 1 pub, 1 music venue (with about 4 or 5 events per month), 1 restaurant, no full service grocery store, no lumber store, etc.
If you are interested in G'boro, you're best bet for wanting to be close things such as music, good restaurants, etc is Sunset Hills, Old Starmount, or around Walker Ave. Homes are older, many on larger lots, no HOAs. etc. GSO has a lot of great parks and the greenway system for walking dogs. Any place between Greensboro and Elon/Burlington will be most likely new subdivisions or more rural. It's odd I saw this post, as my family is moving from Greensboro to the Fresno metro area. Good luck to your move!
Look around Burlington. There's no reason to have a long commute. Go a little north or south into a semi-rural area. Burlington Coop is a great natural food store (it's near the Amtrak Station).
There are places to eat in Burlington, and Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro are all very close for music or entertainment.
You will be commuting every day...but only enjoying a club for music once or twice a week, or even less.
Give yourself the gift of time by locating close to Elon. There are a lot of nice neighborhoods that fit your description near the University.
Thanks much everyone for the responses! We are going to check out the northwest side of Greensboro (zip code 27408) more closely, as well as look into the Burlington area some more. We'd both prefer Greensboro even though my wife will commute to Elon...but I'm more likely to find work at Duke or UNC Chapel hill with my particular academic background and experience, so that is my only hesitation for Greensboro. I'll update this thread as we get a location figured out! Thanks much
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